Utility marker box



Jan. 20, 1970 R M. POPE 3, 0, l

' UTILITY MARKER BOX Filed June 24, 1968 INVENTOR. Ross-1R1 M. P092,

United States Patent U.S. Cl. 220-3.4 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THEDISCLOSURE A marker box for housing, protecting and indicating theposition of pipeline valves, risers and fittings, surveyors stakes,pins, bench marks, highway monuments and the like, which are disposedbelow the grade level of the ground or pavement. The box has a removable1cover disposed in a recess in the top of the box and held in place by aspring biased latch 'to prevent its accidental-removal. The cover isprovided with permanent markings to indicate the nature of the houseditem and the approximate centerlines thereof. An extensioncollar isprovided, the bottom part of which fits into the recess at the top ofthe box and the top of which is "recessed to receive the box cover andlatch. The box and collar are shaped so as to minimize shifting thereofby forces resulting from changing soil conditions, and are made offerrous material to facilitate finding the box with detectioninstruments.

Pipelines for fluids such as water, gas, petroleum products and the likeare usually buried in the earth. Frequently, a subsequently placedpavement buries them further. The lines usuallyare provided withshut-off valves having extended operating stem s,,riser, pipes andthe'like, accessible at the grade surface, as well as other items, suchas branch lines, fittings, and check valves, which are deeply buried butare marked by stakes or pins placed near the surface. v

Surveyors stakes, pins, bench marks, highway monu-. ments and the like,represent another class of items with which the marker box may be usedto advantage. Both classes of items present the problems of protectingthem from damage and vandalism and of finding them when they are needed.I i

It is usually impossible or undesirable to have most of theitems'mentioned, project out of the groundor pavement, consequently theusual practice is to position them slightly below the grade level of theearth, after which they become more deeply covered by vegetation,debris, and

an item set in the earth may extend, so as to be exposed for use byremoval of the cover.

A further object of the invention is to provide a relatively rugged,long-lasting and inexpensive marker box.

Yet another object of the invention is to facilitate the finding of themarker box by making it of a relatively large mass of ferrous material.

Another object of the invention is to provide a marker box having aconfiguration whereby it presents substantially opposed and equivalentsurface areas to forces resulting from changing conditions of the mediumin which it is buried, so as to minimize or prevent the shifting of thebox.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a marker box havinga cover which is held in place by a latch mechanism which cannot bedislodged from latching engagement by vibration, impact or otherordinary environmental forces.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide an extension collarfor the box, which has its lower end formed to fit into the recess ofthe box, and is formed at its upper end to receive the box cover andlatching means.

The above-mentioned and other features and objects of this invention andthe manner of attaining them will become more apparent and the inventionitself will be best understood by reference to the following descriptionof an embodiment of the invention taken in conjunction With theaccompanying drawings, wherein:

' marker box buried flush in the earth and showing the washed-in soil,and all evidence of their location is, obh literated. Even whenmeasurements'from the item to known points are recorded, it usuallyrequires a considerable amount of probing in the soil to locate them.When a pavement has been placed. over the item, the difliculty offinding it is greatly increased.

Further, the mass of such items and the materials from which they areoften made do not produce strong signals on the indicators of detectionequipment.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION and which provides a cavity below such surfaceinto which cover;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the marker box with its cover in place, andshowing the permanent markings on the cover;

. FIG. 3 is an enlarged, cross-sectional, fragmentary View of the boxand cover, taken substantially on the line 3-3 of FIG. 2 and showing thestructure of the latching mechanism; and

FIG. 4 is an elevation, partly in section, showing, the marker box andan extension collar assembled, the box being set flush in an originalpavement and the collar being set in an over-pavement.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT In all of the figures of thedrawings, the numeral 1 indicates the marker box comprising asubstantially square base flange 3 extending outwardly from the bottomends of four (4) upwardly extending converging flat walls 5, which forma frustum of a hollow pyramid. An inwardly extending flange 7 isdisposed in parallel, spaced relation with respect to, and below the topends of the walls. The flange 7 and the upper ends of the walls define arecess 8 adapted to receive a cover 9, which is square and of a size toclose the box opening. The depth of the recess and the thickness of thecover are substantially equal so that the top of the cover 9 is flushwith the top of the box.

The bottom side of the inwardly extending flange 7 is provided withdownwardly open notches 13, at about the midpoint of the span of eachwall, to receive the latchbolt 15 of the cover 9. The four notches 13permit the cover to be installed on the box in any one of four rotativepositions.

As shown in FIG. 1, a projection 17 extends downwardly from the bottomof the cover 9 and then outwardly, at right angles to the adjacent edgeof the cover, at about the midpoint thereof. The projection and thebottom face of the cover define a notch 19 of such dimensions as toreceive the flange 7 as the cover is inserted in the recess. This isdone by tilting the cover so that the side adjacent to the projection 17is tilted downwardly to first contact the top of the flange 7 and bythereafter concurrently lowering the opposite side and moving the entirecover 9 toward the part of the range to be engaged by the projection 17.

A boss, FIG. 1, 2 and 3, indicated by numeral 21, is formed on the lowerside of the cover 9 and adjacent to the side opposite to that bearingthe projection 17. When the cover 9 is installed in the recess 8, theprojection 17 terminates at a level slightly above the top of theadjacent notch 13. The boss 21 is generally cylindrical but has the sidenearest the adjacent edge of the cover flattened parallel to said edge.The boss 21 is disposed opposite to the projection 17. A steppeddiameter bore 25 extends through the boss 21 as shown.

A headed stud 29, having a reduced diameter shank 31 at-its lower end,is received by the bore 25, while the reduced portion enters the bolt 15and is brazed or otherwise fixed thereto, so that the bolt and stud willmove together. The head of the stud 29 is provided with a screwdriverslot 33 or other means, to facilitate axial depression and rotation ofthe stud 29 and bolt 15.

A helical compression spring 35 in the larger portion of the bore 25surrounds the stud 29. The ends of the spring 35 are preferably squaredand seat against the head of the stud 29 and the bottom 27 of the largerportion of the bore 25. The spring 35, in its normally expandedcondition, holds the bolt 15 in contact with the bottom of the boss 21.

When it is desired to install the cover 9 on the marker box or on anextension collar which will be described below, the bolt 15 should berotated so that it does not project beyond the edge of the cover. Thecover is installed in the recess 8 in the manner described above, whichcauses the engagement of the flange 7 with the notch 19 and projection17. When the cover is fully seated in the recess 8, the stud 29 and bolt15 are depressed axially, far enough to position the bolt below theflange 7, after which the stud 29 and bolt 15 are rotated to positionthe bolt 15 under the flange 7. Upon releasing the stud 29, the spring3-5 will move the bolt 15 into contact with the flange 7, so thatfurther rotation of the stud 29 will align the bolt 15 with theassociated notch 13, whereupon the spring 35 will seat the bolt 15therein. Accidental dislodgement of the cover 9 from the box isprevented by the spring 35 which holds the bolt 15 in the notch 13 so asto prevent it from turning out of latching engagement, and by theseating of the cover 9 in the recess '8 which prevents shifting of thecover in a manner to disengage the flange 7 from the bolt 15 and notch19.

To remove the cover 9, the stud 29 and bolt 15 must be depressed to movethe bolt 15 out of the notch 13 and rotated to move the bolt 15 awayfrom the flange 7. Thereafter, the cover 9 must be tilted by lifting theside which is adjacent to the bolt 15, and then translated toward saidside to disengage the projection 17 from the flange 7. The cover 9 maythen be lifted out of the recess 8.

If desired, a vertically extending groove 37 may be formed in the edgeof the cover 9, adjacent to the stud 29, to permit the entry of ascrewdriver or other tool to facilitate the above described tilting ofthe cover 9' prior to its removal.

In order to indicate upon the top of the cover 9, the transverse centerlines of the box, two (2) perpendicular V-grooves 39, 41 are formedtherein. The intersection,

inapplicable portions of the grooves 39, 41, information can be recordeddirectly upon the box as to the direction in which the line runs,whether a second line branches from it and in what direction, whetherthe main line terminates in a T having two (2) branch lines attached,and the like. Again, by accurately locating the depression 43 over amarker stake, pin, bench mark, valve stem and the like, the depressionmay serve to guide the positioning of a transit, thus saving the timerequired to clear all debris, dirt and vegetation from the cover andremoving the cover to expose the item housed in the box. To depict therelation between the box and an item housed therein, FIG. 1 shows asurveyors stake 42 which has been driven into the, earth and the freeend of which extends into the cavity of the box so as to be exposed uponremoval of the cover, although the end of the stake is actually belowgrade level.

The cover 9 may also bear other markings or indicia, such as the raisedletters P and L shown in FIG. 2, to indicate the nature of the itembeing enclosed by the box. In the example shown, the letters indicatethat it is a pipe line.

All of the parts of the box and cover 9 are preferably of cast iron;except the stud 29 and spring 35- which are preferably made of corrosionresistant materials. Brass 'has been found generally suitable for thestud 19 and stainless steel for the spring 35. The base 3, walls 1 andflange 7 are preferably cast as one piece as are the cover 9, projection17 and boss 21. The latchbolt 15 may also be a casting. Thus all of theparts of the box and cover are highly durable.

In order to eliminate the necessity for removing the box when the roador other paving in which it is buried is to be recovered or when thegrade level is to be otherwise elevated, a collar 49 is provided, whichcan be mounted on the box in place of the cover, as shown in FIG. l4.

The four Walls 55, of the collar 49 are flat and converge upwardly todefine a frustum of a hollow pyramid. A flange 51 depends from thebottom ends of the walls and is sized so that it will enter the recess 8at the top of the marker box and rest on its flange 7, while asurrounding flange 53, which is essentially defined by the bottom endsof the walls 55, rests in part on the top ends of the box walls.

A flange 57 defines a recess 59 which is in all respects the same asrecess 8 of the box, and the bottom surface of flange 57 is providedwith notches 61, like notches 13 of the box, for receiving the coverlatchbolt 15.

Thus, instead of disturbing the original marker box to meet theconditions which are outlined above, all that is necessary is to, mountan extension collar 49 directly in the recess of the box and transferthe cover 9 from the box to the recess 59 in the top of the collar.

While the specific dimensions of the marker box and collars may bevaried considerably to meet the requirements of various installations,the following are given as exemplary of a working embodiment. The base 3of this marker box is six inches square, the over-all height is threeand one-half inches, the outside top edges of the walls define a fourand five-eighths inch square and the depth of recess 8 and thickness ofthe cover is threeeighths of an inch. The cover is about four inchessquare. Theheight of the collar is about two inches, not including theheight of flange 51, which is not effective since it occupies the recess8.

While there have been described above the principles of this inventionin connection with specific apparatus, it is to be clearly understoodthat this description is made only by way of example and not as alimitation to the scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A marker box which is adapted to be embedded in material with itsupper end substantially flush with the surface of such material, saidbox comprising: four walls joined together to form a frustum of a hollowpyramid, a flange joined with, and extending outwardly from the base endof said walls, said base and walls presenting opposed and substantiallyequivalent surface areas to said material and to forces generated as theresult of changes in the condition of said material, so that said box remains substantially in the position in which it was initially placed, aninwardly directed flange extending from the inner sides of said walls ata level below the top ends thereof, and forming therewith an upwardlyopen recess, a cover conforming substantially, in shape and size, tosaid recess, so as to enter it and rest upon said inwardly directedflange, said cover including retaining means mounted thereon forengagement with said inwardly directed flange to hold said cover in saidrecess, said means including a projection which extends downwardly fromthe bottom side of the cover and then outwardly to define, with saidcover, a laterally open notch to receive the in wardly directed flange,said flange and projection coacting to prevent vertical separation of.said cover from said box, said retaining means including a rotatablelatchbolt disposed adjacent to the lower side of the cover, the lowerside of said inwardly directed flange defining a downwardly open notchadapted to receive said latchbolt, said latchbolt being mounted forreciprocation along its axis of rotation, for engagement with'saidnotch, when said latchbolt occupies said position, and yieldable meansfor holding said latchbolt in engagement with said notch. v

2. The structure defined by claim 1, wherein the structure for mountingand rotating said latchbolt includes: (a) a stepped diameter borepassing through said cover, adjacent one edge thereof, (*b) acompression spring disposed in said bore, (c) a headed stud received bysaid bore and spring and being secured to said latchbolt, the ends ofsaid spring bearing on the head of the stud and the bottom of the largerdiameter portion of said bore, (d) said latchbolt being held intoengagement with said notch by the force of said spring, when the latteris in a partially compressed condition.

3. The structure of claim 2, including an extension collar having thesame number of walls as said box, said collar being in the form of afrustum of a hollow pyramid, said collar having a flange extendinginwardly from the walls thereof at a level spaced from the upper endsthereof, and forming with said walls, a recess having substantially thesame dimensions and configuration as the recess of said box, a flangejoined to and extending downwardly from said collar, said flange havingdimensions and a configuration such that it will fit into the recess ofthe box and rest upon the inwardly directed flange thereof while thebottom of the collar rests upon the top ends of the box walls.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 537,182 4/1895 Brown 2203.7795,687 7/1905 Cameron 9435 989,695 4/1911 Clark 220-18 X 1,537,3255/1925 Smith et al. 220--3.8 1,712,267 5/ 1929 Gschwind 2203.71,923,;481 8/1933 Ford 220-18 1,975,976 10/ 1934 Robinson. 2,902,185 9/1959 Willwerth. 2,936,092 5/1960 Johnson 220-3.4 X

JOSEPH R. LECLAIR, Primary Examiner I. R. GARRETT, Assistant ExaminerUS. Cl. X.R. 2203.8, 3.94,

mg?" UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No.3,490,637 Dated Januar ZO, 1970 Inventor) fiRobert M. Pope It iscertified that error appears in the above-identified patent and thatsaid Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Column 3, line 6, "range" should be flange; Column 4, line 26, "19"should be -29.

SIGNED KND SEALED Ju-301970 (SEAL) Attest:

Edward M. Fletcher, It.

0mm WILLIAM E. B-GHUYLER. JR. Attesnng Commissioner of Patents

